Relay for Life marks 30th year in Otter Tail County
News | Published on July 8, 2025 at 2:55pm EDT | Author: frazeevergas
0OTC Relay for Life kicks of Friday night in Perham
The Relay For Life of Otter Tail County (July 11) is right around the corner, and several events will take place in the this week, leading up to the big event.
On Sunday and Monday, Perham was decked out in purple, in an event called Paint the Town Purple. Perham’s downtown and 3rd Avenue SE will be decorated with purple flags, pennants, ribbons, and much more. This “purple rain” is all about raising awareness of the upcoming Relay For Life. Local businesses are encouraged to decorate their spaces in purple, and Relay For Life committee members will be putting out purple flags, streamers, and ribbons.
The City of Perham assists in the efforts to paint the town purple by placing purple flags in the downtown flagpoles.
Relay For Life teams mark Tuesday night as an important day of the week. Tuesday, July 8 is Bank Night for the 2025 Relay For Life. At Bank Night, the 20 Relay teams will send their captain to Bank Night, where he/she will turn in the team’s fundraising dollars, make sure they have their campsite secure, and get last-minute instructions for Relay night. At Bank Night, teams and Event Leadership Team members will learn what team totals are and how close the Relay teams, as a whole, are to reaching the 2025 Relay For Life of Otter Tail goal of $200,000.
Thursday night is the Cancer Survivors Dinner at Lakeside Event Center in Perham. It is a wonderful opportunity for cancer survivors to get together and celebrate life. It is also a great warm-up for the Relay For Life on Friday. The Cancer Survivors Dinner features a social hour of informal conversations and mixing, a delicious dinner, a message from an inspirational cancer survivor (Donny Braun), and an exciting lead into the Relay For Life on Friday night. Anyone wishing to attend the Survivors Dinner is asked to contact Laurine Braukmann at (218) 457-1026.
The big night—the culmination of Relay Week—is the Relay For Life of Otter Tail County on Friday night, July 11, at the East Otter Tail Fairgrounds. The “big event” includes many exciting things for attendees to enjoy. Activities begin at 5:30 p.m., and include a Silent Auction, Bingo, a Classic Car Show, Food and Activities at many team campsites, Wacky Hair, Massages, Kids Games and Bounce House, and much more. Because this year’s Relay is also a celebration of the 30th year of Relay in Otter Tail County, Former Honorary Co-Chairs, Former Team Captains, and Former Event Leadership Team members will be honored at an informal reception from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and in special ways during the Survivors Lap and Team Lap.
The highlights of the evening are the Opening Ceremony at 7:30 p.m., which includes the Cancer Survivors Lap and the Dove Release, as well as a Team Lap and speeches from American Cancer Society leadership, and the Luminaria Ceremony at 9:30 p.m., which includes the lighting of the luminaries at dusk, accompanied by peaceful piano music.
The entire evening provides a pleasing mix of opportunities for food, fun, and conversation and moments of inspiration. The event is free and all are welcome. Relay For Life is “about a community that takes up the fight” and organizers would love to see our entire community at Relay, where we celebrate, remember, and fight back against cancer.